Marbel Treasure
by XxfirewolfxX
Summary: It starts as a gift for her father but Nancy and Ned soon stumble in to more than an inocent party


Nancy stirred and opened her eyes

**Nancy stirred and opened her eyes. It was as if she'd never opened them. Whether it was day or night she could not tell because the room was so dark. She wondered what time it was.  
The floor she now lay on was hard, cold, and damp. The room smelled musty.  
"Where am I?" She wondered. She sat up very slowly. Pain thundered at the back of her head.  
She heard something... a scurrying across the floor.  
She gave a gasp as something fury scrambled over the hand that she was using to support herself and jerked it back quickly.  
"Rats!" She exclaimed. She heard more scurry past, startled by her voice. Then she heard another sound. Footsteps.  
"Wh-whose there?" She called out, but her throat was so dry that her voice could barely be heard. The footsteps stopped. In the dark she sensed that someone was standing near her. She began to remember what had happened to her. She had been walking to the store... on an errand for Hannah... something had hit her hard and she blacked out.  
"Who are you?" She asked, her voice growing stronger as she spoke. "Why have you brought me here?"  
Suddenly a bright light was in her face and her eyes stung at the sudden change. Nancy threw her hands in front of her face to fend off the brightness.  
"**_**Hello, Nancy Drew,**_**" a man's voice said, though she couldn't see him behind the light. And then answering her question added, "I think you know why you've been brought here."  
"No, I don't," Nancy said impertinently, "And I would like an explanation."  
The man chuckled. "Really, don't play games, Drew, because I am not a man to tolerate them."  
"Well I'd like an answer to the one **_**you're**_** playing at right now!"  
"Impudent remarks like that could get a young lady into a lot of trouble, Miss Drew!"  
"You're going to be in even more trouble when the police find me! Now I demand to know why you've brought me here!"  
His voice became harsher. "Stop with the playing innocent, Drew. You know what we want and you're going to give it to us. You've got one hour to think it over." The light clicked off and she heard him turn.  
"Wait! You can't keep me here! Someone will find me!"  
He chuckled again. "You're more than three stories under ground. No one will be able to find you here, even if you screamed yourself hoarse." She heard him walking away again and this time he would not turn, no matter what she said.  
It was silent in the basement. Even the rats could not be heard.  
"One hour," she told herself. "One hour! I've got to find a way out of here in **_**one hour!**_** How am I ever going to do that!?"  
Nancy pulled out her pocket flashlight and shined it around the room. It gave off a more yellowish light than usual. Nancy realized that her battery was dying.  
"Why didn't I replace the batteries sooner?" She muttered to herself with an exasperated sigh. But then... that had been one of the things she had planned to get at the store today... or was it yesterday? Nancy had no idea how long she had lain unconscious on that floor and wondered if Hannah and her father would be in a panic about her being missing. Then Nancy had a terrible thought: What if only an hour or so had past? Her father wouldn't be home yet and Hannah wouldn't be expecting Nancy back for maybe an hour more. And if that were the case Hannah might only just be getting worried when the hour was up and her captor came back! Then what would happen to her? Nancy wished she had remembered to wear her watch so that she could look at the time, but she had taken it off earlier in the day and forgotten to put it back on.  
Nancy took a deep breath.  
"Now is not a good time to panic, Nancy," she reminded herself. "Now pull yourself together and find a way out of here!"  
She walked over to the wall and began to feel over it to see if there was someway to open a door. She tired to remember which way her captor had gotten out before, but in the darkness she had gotten all turned around and couldn't tell which way he had gone!  
Her light began to flicker now and seconds later went out completely. She sighed and slid down against the wall. How would she ever find anyway out of there without a light? She stood again and began to feel along the wall again, this time moving more slowly without the aid of light. For fifteen minutes she carried on like that and suddenly jumped as her fingers touched something. It felt like hard cold metal.  
"Hmmm..." Nancy wondered what it was and wished that her light would turn on for just a moment more. She flipped it on and off a few times. It still did not turn back on. Beginning to feel desperate she tried taking the batteries out and putting them back in.  
Nancy took a breath and squeezed her eyes shut, hoping that the light would work just long enough. With her eyes still shut she flipped the switch and when she opened them... yes! The light was on! Nancy quickly shined it over the metal object. It was what looked like a door; almost like an elevator door... yes, the more Nancy looked at it the more she began to think that it was the door to an elevator.  
She frowned in thought. "If I really am three stories below ground, my captors would have to have a way down here... the fastest way down would be some sort of elevator. Now Nancy was sure that that was what it was. Her flashlight now gave up on her entirely and Nancy stood there at the door wondering if there was any way to open it from that side. First she felt the wall next to the door for any buttons or other ways to open it. Finding none she began feeling the door itself.  
Suddenly she jumped back with a small cry as the door began to open! Had Nancy unknowingly hit something that triggered it to open? But no, to Nancy's dismay in the light of the elevator stood three men each wearing a mask. On the floor was another person with his hands tied behind his back and a hood covering his head  
Two of the men lifted the fourth man and set him onto the ground outside of the elevator.  
They stepped back into the elevator and the man, whose voice Nancy recognized from before, said, "You've got less than forty-five minutes, Drew." And the doors slid shut leaving the room in darkness again.  
Nancy wondered now why the three men had brought another person down there and as she thought the person his voice muffled by the hood said, "Can you untie me? I have a flashlight in my back pocket."  
Nancy hesitated. She knew that she recognized that voice... but it was muffled so that even someone she knew well she probably wouldn't have recognized their voice.  
She took a step forward and paused again. What if this person was in on whatever these people wanted from her? Should she untie him?  
"Nancy, please untie me!"  
Nancy! He had used her name! But them again... so had her captor when he came in. But that voice she knew it... and suddenly... yes! She **_**knew**_** whose voice that was! Quickly she rushed over, grabbed the flashlight, turned it on, and yanked the hood off.  
"Ned!" She cried. Her words came out in a rush. "I'm so sorry! I didn't recognize your voice with that hood and with all that's been happening I didn't know what to do and... and..."  
"Shh, Nancy, it's okay. I understand," Ned said soothingly. "I would have felt the same way. It's alright."  
Nancy smiled. "Thanks, Ned."  
"Now, if you don't mind I'd kind of like to have my hands back," Ned joked and grinned, despite their situation.  
Nancy quickly set to work at trying to untie is hands, but the knots were tied too tight.  
Nancy paused a moment, her fingers cramped.  
"They're tied too tight, Ned! By the time I get these knots undone the hour will be up!"  
"The hour?"  
"Whoever that man that kidnapped us is told me that I had one hour to make a decision. The problem's is that he didn't tell me what it is I had to decide. Said I already knew, but that's just it! I don't!"  
"Nancy!" Ned suddenly said, abruptly changing the subject. "I just remembered. I've got a penknife in my back pocket! Try using that, Nancy. Then I'll tell you my side of the story. I also want to hear the rest of yours."  
Nancy nodded eagerly and began cutting through the ropes. As she did Ned explained, "See, I was walking when this van pulled up beside me. I ignored it, but suddenly two guys jumped out, grabbed me, threw a hood over my head, and pulled me into the back. Then, I arrived here with you."  
"Did they say anything on the drive?" Nancy asked.  
"No, they stayed pretty quiet. At one point I insisted on knowing why they'd kidnapped me. At first they wouldn't answer, but as I persisted one said something like, 'You both know that,' and wouldn't say anymore. Kind of the same answer he gave you, I guess."  
The knife cut through the ropes just then and Ned stretched his arms, grateful that they were free.  
"So what do you think it is that they want from us, Nancy?"  
"I don't know, Ned. I've been trying figure that out since I came to down here, and I don't know. I'm not working on any mysteries right now that would explain anything like this, strange as that is for me."  
"Well, it looks like we've both been pulled into a mystery now, Nancy."  
"Yeah, literally pulled."  
They shined Ned's flashlight around the room, trying to see if there was anyway out. As they did so Nancy told Ned exactly what had happened to her. As she finished she suddenly asked, "Ned, what time is it?"  
He shined the flashlight onto his watch.  
"Uh... it's three-thirty-seven."  
"Oh, no!"  
"What, what's wrong?"  
"I only left to go to the store at about one o'clock. Maybe one-thirty. Hannah will only just be getting worried. She might call Dad, but who knows how long it will be before they call the police and even longer before they find us!"  
"Well, let's not think about that now, Nancy. We're going to just have to keep looking for a way out. If there is one, we're going to find it."  
"I have an idea!" She said after a moments thought. "Look, we're can breath down here, right?"  
"Yeah..."  
"And we're not running out of air, right?"  
"Yeah..."  
"So if we're really three stories below ground, where's the air coming from!?"  
"Oh, your right, Nancy! There must be an air shaft or something!"  
"Right! Can I borrow your flashlight a moment?"  
Nancy took the light from Ned and shined it on the ceiling. A minute later she spied in the far corner an air vent! Both dashed over to it, rats hurrying out of the way.  
Nancy and Ned looked up at it.  
"Do you think if you stood on my shoulders you could reach it, Nancy?"  
"I think so..."  
"Okay..." Ned crouched low so that Nancy could climb up. Slowly he stood to his full height.  
"Yes, I can reach it!"  
"Great! Is there anyway to get it open? If not you can use my penknife again and try to unscrew it."  
"There isn't a way to open it... but, even if we did get this cover off there's no way I could fit it there and from the looks of things it only gets narrower as it goes."  
Both sighed and Nancy got back down.  
"Now what?"  
"The rats!" Ned exclaimed. "Look at them! They're everywhere!"  
"Yeah, I know."  
"No, no. I don't mean just that there are rats, I mean, how did the rats get down here? They couldn't have come through the vent; the grating over it's too small."  
"Right, Ned! And I don't think they could have taken the elevator down either. So there's got to be another way to of here!"  
"Well, maybe not. Maybe the rats are geniuses and figured out how to run the elevator." Ned joked.  
"Yeah, that must be what they did," Nancy said sarcastically. "But seriously, let's look for a way out."  
They decided that since they'd looked over the room before and not found anything that they would try following a rat. They saw one and as they watched it ran along the wall and up into a hole. Going over to it Nancy and Ned shined the flashlight into it. Ned put his eye up to the hole and looked through.  
"Nancy!" He said excitedly. "The hole widens out inside. If we can somehow dig out this entrance we may find a way to escape in there! Come on!"  
Both got down on their knees and, being the only tools they had, used their hands to begin digging out the dirt wall.  
They didn't know how long they worked but they knew that it was a long time. The hole kept growing wider and wider until at last it was enough to easily crawl through and, once they were inside it would be enough to stand up.  
"Ned?" Nancy asked, wiping the back of her hand over her dirt and sweat covered face. This was one of the first times either of them had spoken since they had discovered the hole and began digging. "When those guys grabbed you, what color did you say the van they were in was?"  
"I didn't say," Ned answered. "But I'm pretty sure that it was a white one."  
"A white van..." Nancy murmured as her forehead creased in thought. "Where have I seen a white van recently?"  
"I think I saw one like it..." But their conversation was suddenly interrupted as the elevator doors opened!  
Both jumped to their feet, blocking the hole they'd created. Their hour was up!  
The three men made their way toward Ned and Nancy, their leader holding a flashlight, trained on the two.  
Ned stepped in front of Nancy. "Stay behind me, Nancy." He murmured.  
"But, Ned!"  
"**_**Nancy!**_**" Ned said sharply, "Listen to me! **_**Stay behind me.**_**"  
Ned's tone of voice told her to listen because he had a plan.  
"Have you made a decision, Drew?" The leader asked.  
"Before we give **_**you**_** any answers, **_**we'd**_** like some of our own." Ned said firmly. "Like why have you brought us here?"  
The man holding the flashlight chuckled. "Both of you are still pretending you don't know? Well, this may be more difficult then I thought."  
"Maybe." Ned nudged Nancy back a little. Catching on to what he was doing she placed her foot into the entrance of the hole. Ned kept talking. "Whatever you want must mean an awful lot." Ned put his hand against the wall and, un-noticed by their captors, got a handful of dirt.  
"Mean an awful lot?" The leader repeated. "It **_**is**_** an awful lot. Worth a total of fifty-thousand dollars. And as soon as you tell us where it is you can go."  
"Right, you expect us to believe that you would just 'let us go?' I doubt it!"  
"Smart b..." but Ned suddenly threw the handful of dirt at their kidnapper's face!  
As he stumbled backward, giving an angry shout as the dirt made contact with his eyes, he dropped the flashlight and Ned shouted, "Now, Nancy!"  
Nancy, who had been waiting for Ned's command now ducked down and shot into the hole. Once inside she quickly turned around and stood up, having to bend low to keep her head form hitting the ceiling.  
"Go!" Ned shouted giving her a push forward.  
They heard the men all give shouts, having now found the hole they'd dug. Soon they heard their footsteps pounding the ground behind them in pursuit. Nancy and Ned kept running, never pausing once, knowing that they would be caught if they did. The ground began sloping upward and suddenly the straight path they'd been following took a sharp turn to the left and leveled out so that they were again on flat ground.  
The path seemed to never end, but then it suddenly did.  
"It's a wall! It's a solid wall!"  
Nancy shined the flashlight up.  
"Wait, Ned!" She cried. "There's an opening above us!"  
"Your right!" Ned quickly stretched his arms out and jumped up. He caught hold of the edge and pulled himself up with all his strength. Once up Ned lay down on his stomach and stretched his arms toward Nancy.  
"Grab my arms, Nancy!"  
Nancy reached up to her full arm length, but her finger tips and Ned's could only just barley touch. It was not enough to get a good hold.  
Nancy jerked her head back, hearing the footsteps nearing.  
"Hurry, Ned! They're getting closer!"  
"Nancy! This is the farthest I can reach! Just jump up and grab my wrists!"  
Nancy bent her knees a little and then jumped up as high as she could and grabbed Ned's wrists, holding tight. She swung dangerously in air and dug her toes into the wall, in effort to help Ned as he struggled to pull her up. At last she was up and neither wasted a moment immediately began running. They could hear the men attempting to climb up after them and doubled their speed.  
The ground sloped up again, more steeply this time.  
Suddenly Nancy gave a shout. "Ned! There's a light up ahead! We're almost there! Come on!"  
Both had a new-found strength and hope in the light and hurried onward.  
Suddenly Nancy tripped up and fell hard. The footsteps of the men behind them pounded closer.  
Ned grabbed her arm and helped Nancy quickly back to her feet. The light was growing brighter now as they drew closer. Suddenly they were directly below it!  
"Climb out, Nancy! Hurry!" Ned gave her a boost and in moment Nancy's head was poking out of the hole and... Yes!! Into fresh air, real light, and freedom!  
But Nancy didn't have time to take it in or even notice anymore than the fact that they were in the middle of a wood. She squirmed through the hole and moved out of the way for Ned to follow her.  
Soon his broad shoulders were also squeezing through. Ned was starting to pull out and was almost out up to his waist when he jerked downward. He gave a cry. "Nancy, help me! They've grabbed my legs!"  
Nancy swiftly took hold of his hands and pulled hard.  
"Come on, Ned!" Nancy kept pulling, but she could feel the strain of the men below them pulling in the opposite direction.  
Ned kicked one of his legs out and hitting one of the men freed his legs momentarily and, with Nancy's help, climbed out of the hole in seconds. Both jumped up and began running.  
Now they could feel the burning pain in their legs from constant, hard running, but they couldn't stop. No, they couldn't stop as they could again hear the men in pursuit behind them.  
"Nancy!" Ned said excitedly. "The woods are ending! We're coming up to a road!"  
With another burst of speed Nancy and Ned reached the end of the woods and found themselves on a paved road.  
"Ned, I know where we are!" Nancy exclaimed. "We're on a road on the edge of River Heights!"  
"Nancy! A bus! There's a bus leaving right there! It's heading back into town!"  
"Come on, Ned! We've got to try and catch it!"  
"Right. We won't be able to run like this forever."  
Both pounded onward and as they saw the bus pulling away from the stop both began waving their arms and shouting.  
**_**"Stop, please stop!"**_**  
Nancy glanced back. The men were almost to the edge of the woods!  
Nancy looked again toward the bus. They heard the screech of brakes and, yes! The bus was stopping!"  
They pounded onward, though their legs were beginning to feel like they couldn't support them much longer.  
"Come on, Nancy! We're almost there!"  
The bus doors were open and Nancy and Ned ran up the steps and as the doors closed Nancy and Ned were at last able to stop running and, bent over resting their hands on their knees, gasped, "Three men are chasing us... we were... kidnapped... Don't let them... on the bus."  
The driver raised his eyebrows at their appearance, and didn't seem to believe them.  
"Please!" Nancy gulped for air. "This is very important!"  
The driver stared at them a moment more and again looking at their dirt smudged faces and clothes. He nodded as if he now trusted them and motioned for them to sit.  
After a few moments Nancy and Ned had caught their breath and asked the driver if he had a phone they could use to call the police. The driver wordlessly handed them a cell phone and continued forward.  
As Nancy dialed the police number Ned looked back. The men had just emerged from the woods and were staring angrily after the bus. There were only a few other passengers on the bus who were all looking very interested in all the excitement that was happening up front, wanting to know what was going on. Ned turned his attention back to what Nancy was saying on the phone. A few moments later she hung up and told Ned that the police were on the lookout for their captors and would meet Nancy back at the house.  
Now that they were safe both began to think more about why they'd been kidnapped and what it was that was wanted from them.  
"Can you think of anywhere we've been together in the last few days and something happening that might hint to this?" Nancy asked.  
Ned shook his head and then said, "Wait! Do you remember when we went to that antique shop and how the clerk there was acting strangely?"  
"Yes..." Nancy said slowly. "We went up to the counter to pay for that little statue and he kept trying to tell us that it wasn't for sale and was only on display. But then he called the manager and he said that their store was closing and everything was for sale."  
"Right. Ned agreed. "When he tired to protest the manager got mad at he grudgingly sold it to us."  
Nancy nodded thoughtfully. "And there was a white can parked outside! That's where I saw one! So do you think that that may have to do with all this?" She asked.  
Ned shrugged and said with a laugh, "I don't know! **_**You're**_** the detective! You tell me. Sure does sound like it, though."  
Nancy laughed too and both felt a sense of relief that they were safe yet both also felt a little tense wondering if their captors would strike again before they were caught.  
Nancy finally answered Ned's question. "I guess the only way we're going to find out is to go to my house and take a look at that statue. It may... Oh! There's our stop!" Nancy and Ned got off and thanked the bus driver. They walked the rest of the way to Nancy's house and, unlocking the door, went inside.  
"Hannah!" Nancy called.  
"I'm in the kitchen, dear!" Hannah came hurrying into the room. "I was getting worried about you, Nancy. Did you get the..." She stopped seeing Nancy and Ned's disheveled appearance. "Nancy! Ned! What happened to you? What ever have you been doing!?"  
Nancy and Ned explained what had happened, quickly reassuring Hannah that they had already called the police and when they finished hurried upstairs to check the little statue. Nancy pulled it out of the top of her closet where she had hidden since she was going to give it to Mr. Drew for his birthday and didn't want him to find it. Taking it downstairs they sat at the table looking over it. Looking at the carved pattern on it they wondered if there could be some kind of spring that would make it open. Ned pulled out his pen knife and ran it along the crack. Suddenly there was a **_**click **_**and the bottom of the statue began to open! Just then there was a knock on the front door and when they opened it two police officers stood there.  
Nancy explained to them her theory about the statue and said that they had just found a way to open it. The police followed them into the kitchen and all watched eagerly as Ned opened the crack widened. All gave gasps of surprise at what came out of the bottom. Spilling onto the table were dozens of small diamonds! The glittered beautifully in the afternoon light that filled the room and all that were there were amazed.  
"Do you think that these were stolen?" Hannah asked in astonishment.  
"I'm not sure if these are the ones," one officer answered, "But there have been several reports of valuable diamonds stolen. These could be the ones, or some totally different, but either way it is strange that they were hidden like this and I can't see an honest person doing it."  
They studied the statue some more, but nothing else was found in it. The police said that they'd like Nancy and Ned to come with them and show them where they escaped in the woods and to bring the diamonds to police headquarters.  
Nancy and Ned agreed and said that they would be back in time for dinner. They got into the police car and after they had stopped at the police station and another squad car had been sent to follow them they headed toward the place in the woods that Nancy and Ned had escaped from. With some difficulty they found the hole that they had come through. The police asked them if they had any idea how far and in which direction they had been running. Nancy pointed in the way she was sure they had gone. They walked in that way for some time wondering what they would eventually come upon. They walked for what seemed like an eternity when Nancy signaled the others to stop. Pointing silently through the trees they saw an old building.  
The officers whispered to Ned and Nancy to stay outside until they said it was safe just incase the men **_**were**_** inside.  
The police disappeared into the building and seconds later they heard loud shouts.  
Nancy started to run inside, but Ned grabbed her arm. "Nancy, the police said to wait out here!"  
"Ned!" Nancy exclaimed, yanking her arm back. "I'm not going to just wait out here while those men are in **_**there**_**!"  
"And I'm not letting you go while those men are in there!"  
Nancy sighed reluctantly and waited.  
After what seemed like a very long time Nancy started to get worried and impatient. The sounds of a scuffle had stopped, but the police were still not calling to them that it was safe.  
Nancy began to move around impatiently. "What could be taking **_**so**_** long!?"  
"Nancy..."  
But Ned was interrupted by sounds from behind them. Both jumped and turned around, shocked to see the police!  
"H-how did you get behind us?" Nancy asked, taken aback. "We never saw you come out."  
One of the officers grinned. "Chased them al the way through the tunnel! Caught them on the way out and their in the car. They were in there packing up all kinds of stolen goods in boxes! They're in the car now."  
"So did they say at all why we were kidnapped? Was it because they thought we knew about the diamonds in the statue?"  
"Yep, they thought you knew about them and panicked. They kidnapped you, trying to get it back."  
"But why ever would they put it in the store in the first place? Didn't they ever think someone might buy it?"  
"They said that the plan was for it to be on display and the man they were working for would come in and buy it. It would look totally innocent, but they would have their money and he would have his diamonds. Seemed like a foolproof plan until..."  
"Until Ned and I came along." Nancy finished. "Was the shop keeper working there in on it?"  
"Yes he was. He was one of the men who kidnapped you. We've now got an APB out for a fourth man, the one they were working for."  
They talked a few minutes more with the police and then the officer who had first spoken said that they would drive Nancy and Ned home.  
Soon the police car was pulling up to the Drew house and Nancy and Ned got out, glad that this was all over.  
The police told them that they would need to come down the station later to make a statement. Then they drove off with the arrested men in the back.**

Later, around the table with cookies Hannah had made, Nancy and Ned talked over what had happened. As their conversation came to an end Nancy said, "I guess there's only one mystery left now."  
Ned groaned. "Nancy, please... I can't take anymore mysteries!"  
Nancy laughed. "Don't worry! The only mystery I've got right now is what I'm going to give Dad for his birthday since the police had to take the statue for evidence!"  
Ned laughed to and drained the last of his milk.  
"Now _**that**_** I can deal with!" He said standing up. "Why don't we go look now?"  
"Really? That'd be great!"  
"Yeah, it would be nice to relax a little after all this."  
Nancy was opening the front door when the phone rang. Nancy closed the front door and picked up the phone. "Hello... Bess, hi!... what?... where?!" Nancy listened a little more, nodding her head. "Alright... I'm on my way!"  
Nancy grabbed her car keys and ran out the door. Ned ran after her calling, "Nancy, what's going on?"  
Nancy opened the car door and shouted back, "A mystery! I'll tell you on the way! Come on!"  
"Another mystery!?" Ned sighed and ran over to the car, where Nancy already had the engine running.  
He sighed again, rolling his eyes. "There goes my peaceful afternoon."  
Nancy backed the car out of the driveway and hit the gas, heading the opposite direction of the shops. Birthday shopping could wait; she had a mystery to solve!  
THE END**


End file.
